Not enough is known about these drugs. |
Our findings show that, according to reliable evidence, the effectiveness of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines in elderly individuals is modest, irrespective of setting, outcome, population, and study design, |
People should ask whether it's worth investing these trillions of dollars and euros in these vaccines. |
The bottom line is the effectiveness is modest, at best. It's very disappointing. |
The runaway 100 percent effectiveness that's touted by proponents was nowhere to be seen. |
There is a wild overestimation of the impact of these vaccines in the community. In the case of a pandemic, we are unsure from the data whether these vaccines would work on the elderly. |
We need a more comprehensive and perhaps more effective strategy in controlling acute respiratory infections, relying on several preventive interventions that take into account the multi-agent nature of infectious respiratory disease and its context (such as personal hygiene, provision of electricity and adequate food, water and sanitation), |
What you see is that marketing rules the response to influenza, and scientific evidence comes fourth or fifth. Vaccines may have a role, but they appear to have a modest effect. The best strategy to prevent the illness is to wash your hands. |